Please help! Can I be a nurse if I have vasovagal syncope??

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Specializes in telemetry/med surg.

Please help me! I have been crying my eyes out and dont know what to do. I am currently in the nursing program making excellent grades. I LOVE it! But I am so worried. Today, I went with my best friend to the DR. to get a cervical biopsy done. I didnt watch the procedure, I just talked with her while she was having it done. I felt myself getting weirder and weirder, and I KNEW I was fixing to faint. I had it happen one other time when my daughter had surgery. I literally passed all the way out, and my pulse was really low. It has something to do with me knowing that the people I care about are in pain. I just dont know how this is going to affect me in nursing. Shots dont bother me, and blood doesnt bother me. But it makes me feel like a failure, to know I passed out and dont even know why. From what I researched it is called vasovagal syncope, and is from the blood pooling in the legs. It can be related to watching someone experience pain, watching or experiencing medical procedures, the sight of blood, or giving/recieving a shot.

I am just so sad, I love nursing school, and I have learned so much already. I am just worried, what if I get close to my patients and have the same reaction? I know it has to do with KNOWING the person I am close to is in pain. I just want the truth, is this going to keep me from being a nurse? It was so embarassing, here I am at the DRS office, and I still had my school ID on. I am sure they were thinking "oh my GOD and she wants to be a nurse??"

any help you can offer is appreciated.

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Specializes in ICU.

I wouldn't write yourself off just yet. When you are a nurse you will maintain a professional relationship with your patients. While you may care deeply for them, it still won't be the same as family or close friends.

I would also bet that the more experience you get, the better you will be able to handle these uncomfortable situations. Hang in there and time will tell!

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I too would also like to know if it is possible to nurse with vasovagal syncope and have been 'suffering' with this condition for nearly a year, i have been diagnosed as having this and currently undergoing further testing with the falls and syncope clinic, im on meds which they keep adjusting and changing but nothing seems to be working at the moment. i dont have a triger it just happens, im unable to control it and hate the idea of it happening in front of a patient. i have collapsed and blacked out at both the university and a training hopsital (luckly i was on a break) and just would like some reassurance that the effect and training that ive undergone in the past 2 years hasnt been for nothing. my main concern isnt the episode itself but the fact that i can be out for the count for up to 30 mins and it takes a while to bring me back around after which i am in no fit state to work and just sleep sometimes for up to 24 hours afterwards. is it still possible to nurse??

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Not sure if this will help but our instructor told us before we went into the OR to watch surgeries NEVER to lock our legs because that is what happens. So try to keep your legs relaxed and move your weight back and forth from one leg to the other. Hope that helps!

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Specializes in telemetry/med surg.

thanks :o) I made it, I graduated as a nurse on December 11,2010 and took my state boards yesterday! Now when I am in a stressful situation such as surgery, I just kinda rock from one foot to the other

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Congratulations! I hope all goes well for you. :yeah:

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thanks :o) I made it, I graduated as a nurse on December 11,2010 and took my state boards yesterday! Now when I am in a stressful situation such as surgery, I just kinda rock from one foot to the other

Yay I love updates!

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Glad to hear it worked out for you! :)

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thanks :o) I made it, I graduated as a nurse on December 11,2010 and took my state boards yesterday! Now when I am in a stressful situation such as surgery, I just kinda rock from one foot to the other

What state are you in? How did you get to take boards so fast? I graduated the 21st of Dec and still am waiting to be eligible to sit for boards.

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